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Rodney Hudson, 30, said he feels his felony conviction for marijuana possession is essentially a sentence to a life of poverty. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
In Milwaukee, as well as most of the nation, African Americans are much more likely than any other group to be arrested for possessing marijuana. Adding to that problem is the extremely costly felon tag attached to a second arrest for possession. I looked deeply at the issue and found that marijuana arrests are a major reason that Wisconsin has the highest incarceration rate in the country for African Americans.
To date, this story has been my most challenging story to report and write, but I believe it shed light on the issue and illustrated how damaging unequal enforcement of marijuana laws is to Milwaukee’s black community. Of all the stories I wrote in 2014, this is the one I’m most proud of.
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